Big birds vs my senior cat?

Question

Our senior cat hangs out on our front lawn, but he never wanders, just likes to relax.

Our question is, would turkey vultures or hawks attack?

Sometimes we see them flying in groups of five and sometimes swooping down-
But we don’t know what they are exactly… Either turkey vultures or hawks.
Thank you

Naturalist's Response

[A soaring turkey vulture, photo by Jim Marquardt]

Turkey Vultures are intimidatingly large birds, and they get up to some impressive aerial acrobatics, but have no fear: they aren’t after your cat!

Instead, these birds almost exclusively feed on dead animals, which they primarily locate by smell. No matter how sleepy your cat is, unless it smells rotten, it won’t tempt a Turkey Vulture.

[Six turkey vultures feed on a dead deer, photo by Dan Best]

Other birds of prey (such as large hawks and owls) have a healthy appetite for chickens and other backyard birds, and can sometimes prey on kittens. It’s very rare, and almost always involves baby animals that weigh less than three pounds or so, which is about the limit of what a predatory bird can carry. The heftier your cat is, the less it has to worry about raptors!

[A sleepy cat, via Pexels]

But you don’t have to take my word for it. Because your concerns are shared by plenty of other pet owners, there have been lots of handy articles written about the same fears. Here’s a well-reasoned post from The Nature Conservancy about pets and raptors, and another article from the Cornell Lab Of Ornithology. If you want to spoil your cat, this article from the American Bird Conservancy has some handy tips on making a “catio” or other outdoor enclosure to help keep cats (and birds) safe. Enjoy!

-Naturalist Chris Mentrek